General Efficacy Scale

What Is the General Self-Efficacy Scale?

The GSES measures a person’s general sense of self-efficacy, or their belief in their capacity to solve problems, adapt to stressful situations, and achieve goals. Unlike domain-specific scales that focus on specific areas like academics or health, the GSES is designed to assess a broad, overall confidence in one’s ability to cope with life’s challenges.

The General Self-Efficacy Scale: How It Works and Why It Matters

 If you have high self efficacy then you are able to overcome challenges and believe that you can do what you put your mind to. The General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) is a  tool designed to measure these trait. It was developed by Ralf Schwarzer and Matthias Jerusalem in 1995. They believed it was a key factor for a person's success. You should care because it is the key factor to success in my areas of life. Self efficacy is a key predictor physical exercise, adherence to medication. addictive behaviors, nutrition and weight control and sexual risk behaviors. 

How Does the GSES Work?

Structure of the Scale

The GSES consists of 10 self-report items, each designed to capture a key aspect of general self-efficacy. Respondents rate their level of agreement with each statement on a 4-point scale, ranging from:

1. Not at all true
2. Hardly true
3. Moderately true
4. Exactly true

The total score is calculated by summing the responses to all items, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy.

These questions assess both problem-solving ability and emotional resilience, which are core aspects of self-efficacy.

What Do the Results Mean?

Interpreting the Score

• Low Scores: Indicate a lower belief in one’s ability to handle life’s challenges. One with a low score feels unable to succeed. Indicating that they can't control their undesirable behaviors or help themselves. 
• High Scores: Reflect strong confidence in one’s capabilities, often associated with better coping mechanisms, higher motivation, and resilience.

How Can You Use the GSES in Your Life?

1. Take the Scale: Reflect honestly on the 10 items. There’s no right or wrong answer—this is about understanding yourself.

2. Analyze Your Results: Identify areas where your confidence is strong and areas where you feel less assured.

3. Set Goals for Growth: Use the insights to develop strategies for building your self-efficacy. For example:

   1. Use a self efficacy statement: "I believe that I can...even if... happens". I believe that I will not drink alcohol even if my wife drinks alcohol next to me. 

   2. emotional arousal: positive emotions around the situation can improve self efficacy while negative feeling like anxiety can undermine self efficacy. I am excited to save money and not drink again. 
   3. vicarious experience: watch someone else achieve an action. My friend in my AA class was asked if he wanted a drink, he said no. 
   4. accomplishment or mastery: achieve an action (start off small to cultivate success). I didn't buy alcohol when I passed by the store. 
   5. verbal persuasion: a trusted person assuring you that you're capable. You are in control of your own actions, you can choose to not drink.

4. Track Progress: Retake the scale periodically to measure how your self-efficacy evolves over time. 

Conclusion

REMEMBER: Not achieving a goal (getting a drink) does not set you back to zero. Mistakes happen but that doesn't mean your goal isn't important enough to keep striving for.